Internet grinch dims Pingree Grove holiday lights contest

A crude comment left on a Web site promoting Pingree Grove's holiday lights contest has led the village president to pull the plug on the event altogether.

The bizarre post, written anonymously by "tinkle clause" Thursday, panned some of the designs featured in the Internet-based Twinkle Contest by saying some are more appropriate for a "strip joint," called Heritage District dwellers "hicks," taunted a resident, and used the contest to create a rivalry between the East Hampton and West Hampton subdivisions.

"I [sic] could do a better job decorating by closing my eyes and throwing lights at the village bush," the post said. "easthampton [sic] clearly has the best lights in the town and the winner by the votes."

Village President Clint Carey, who organized the inaugural contest to embrace the holiday season, was not amused.

"It was vile and not in the spirit of the holidays," said Carey, who has since removed the comment from the site and replaced it with an apology. "What's more innocent than a Christmas light contest?"

It all started off innocently enough.

Carey was driving through the Cambridge Lakes neighborhood with his 2-year-old son when he noticed the boy's reaction to some of the subdivision's extravagant light displays.

He stopped and asked homeowners whether they'd be interested in participating in a contest, and from there the event featuring 15 sections of the huge subdivision was launched.

The village president created a Web site for the contest, asking visitors to check out selected holiday displays, then return to vote for and comment about their favorites.

One of the homeowners specifically targeted by "tinkle clause" had been threatened in the past, and their concerns about the anonymous remarks were enough for Carey to end the contest.

Carey also said he was worried about children reading inappropriate posts, and about some of the comments undermining the contest's integrity.

"The Internet can be used for a lot of good things, but a lot of times you just don't have control over what's going on," Carey said. "My mistake was I let the Internet be involved."

Carey forwarded the comment to the village police department, but it is not planning an investigation.

"There's nothing criminal," Chief Carol Lussky said. "It's just rude."

That rudeness won't prevent the village from running an offline version of the contest next year.

As their model, organizers point to similar events in Lake in the Hills and South Elgin where residents enter their displays and a panel of judges selects winners.

That, they hope, will keep the Internet Grinch from stealing everyone else's holiday fun.

"I didn't know he existed," Carey said. "I should have known he existed."